Here’s one guy who’s not afraid to answer questions.
UFC middleweight contender Luke Rockhold has never been afraid to let the candor fly during interviews and public appearances. One of his favorite targets is Vitor Belfort, the Brazilian ex-champ who has been dogged by failed drug tests and cheating allegations for years.
On Monday, Rockhold had another opportunity to sound off on his longtime nemesis who defeated him by first-round knockout when the two met in Brazil in 2013. And he took advantage of that opportunity.
Oh, did he ever.
Said opportunity arose when Belfort and his manager (who also happens to be his wife) refused at the 11th hour Monday to appear on The MMA Hour broadcast with host Ariel Helwani.
The refusal occurred when Helwani would not acquiesce to last-minute demands that he avoid certain lines of questioning, perhaps involving a major recent report that Belfort fought Chris Weidman at UFC 152 despite knowing he had failed a drug test.
Mr. @vitorbelfort will not be on the show today after all. His rep asked me about an 1 ago to not ask certain qs. I said I couldn’t do that…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 26, 2015
… so they pulled him from the show. Disappointing, considering he was booked on Wednesday and they give this ultimatum now. Ah well. …
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 26, 2015
Now back to Rockhold. Appearing on Bloody Elbow’s Three Amigos Podcast on Monday, Rockhold had a fresh round of putdowns for the eccentric 38-year-old.
“The guy’s living a lie and he’s trying to cover it up the best he can,” Rockhold said of Belfort.
Rockhold said he has long been convinced that Belfort routinely cheats to get ahead as a fighter:
Vitor has been dirty his whole career. There’s everybody else and then there’s Vitor. It’s a matter of how much he’s cheating, not if. There’s a lot of guys that cheat, and then there’s Vitor. It’s just another level. He’s just on everything you could possibly imagine, and it’s been that way since he was 19 years old.
No special interpretation needed on that one.
Belfort (24-11) faces 45-year-old fellow testosterone replacement therapy enthusiast Dan Henderson (31-13) on November 7 at UFC Fight Night 77.
Rockhold (14-2) is scheduled to fight Weidman for the UFC middleweight title on December 12 at UFC 194.
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